Starry Eyes

LOL, yes, Royal does need to improve their IT department. I think it would be a good investment, thought I’m not holding my breath

Yeah, I can understand that they could do that (like MTD), but it would add yet another factor to table assignments, slowing it further. Like you, I just do not think it will happen. And, in the unlikely event they do try it, I don’t think it will last long.

Yes, on most ships early traditional dining has all the seats so MTD is not scheduled to start until 6:45 or so. If there are vacancies (early diners not utilizing the MDR that might), it might be possible that some MTD guests will be seated earlier. If the app were improved, the dining system could work better. Imagine: as a traditional dining guest just by tapping a button on the app you could inform the MDR that your party would not be using your assigned table that evening as you have other plans (the MDR table would be immediately available to other guests, if needed). Imagine: rather than joining a queue, MTD guests could tap a button on the app to signal they’d like a table; they would get an appropriate wait time via the app and a notification when their table was available (claim within 10 minutes). More guest satisfaction, no more long lines, and good for bars, shops and casino.

I do that on the app.

Nah. The OP has late dining at 7:30 on Oasis, not MTD. Please understand that dining times are not standardized across the fleet. On some itineraries on some ships late dining might start at 8 pm on other ships sailing on other itineraries late dining might be at 7:30 pm. The OP is experiencing such a difference.

Yes, that report of a conversion with the EN D concierge raises the possibility they might extend that concept to other ships, even one like EN that currently do not have Royal suite program.

Or they perhaps they will sell JS’s two ways: either at a lower price without the extra amenities or at a higher price with the full suite amenities.

While the most guests are directed to the escalator, staff will direct those with wheelchairs, scooters, strollers, etc to gangway via elevators

We tend to do that, too, but sometimes one of us might like a different wine (or second glass) with the main course.

Oops. Posted in error

Over multiple cruises twice drinks have been charged to our vouchers in error. Each time one of us stopped by the Diamond Concierge’s desk and the errors were quickly corrected. I’d recommend that over guest services unless your concierge is overwhelmed by other guests. While our voucher usage in bars generally show up on the app immediately, those used in the dining room may take hours to show up on some ships some evenings. Thus we find cannot rely on the app to know how many vouchers remain, and I assume other bartenders cannot know those vouchers have been used either.

You are not rewarded points until after you complete your cruise (not day by day), so you will not be Diamond or enjoy any Diamond benefits this cruise. Next time

If having the room serviced between 4-5pm did not suit you well, did you discuss other options with your steward? We recently did a b2b (different cabins/stewards) on Odyssey. It was our first time with once a day service. We asked that the cabin be serviced in the morning. No issue. We were quite happy with the service. The rest of the ship was clean, too. There were lots of kids, and I think one should always expect the big ships to draw kids (though some sailings will draw more than others). I never liked Royal’s pizza; I do not think anyone should book for the pizza, lol.

Relax, you do not need reservations to use MTD. There will be two lines outside the MTD dining room on the ship each night. One line for people with reservations and one line for people without reservations. If you join the line for people without reservations, they will seat you. Of course, none of us can guess if the line or the wait will be short or long when you show up🤷‍♀️. If you want reservations, go to the MTD desk as soon as you board. Ask there if reservations are available at your desired times. You might be lucky; the worst you will hear is no. If you’d rather not commit to reservation times or if you cannot get them, just plan to use the no reservation line.

Do you mean you have traditional dining and want to switch to MTD? Or do you have MTD and, when hoping to make reservations, found no reservation times were available?

Don’t kid yourself. Whether or not people in CA whisper or shout, the bean counters will nevertheless notice the revenue coming from various ships.

It does sound like CA has cheaper fares right one. I hope Navigator is making up for the lower fares with solid on board revenue so the overall So Cal revenue is up to snuff, or they might be tempted to redeploy the ship.

Well, if that is the concern, post on the roll call for the cruise after yours offering to leave to mattress pad for a someone on that cruise. I bet you get a taker (or six, lol). Roll up the pad, put the recipient’s cruise date and cabin number on the mattress pad. Ask your steward to take it to that cabin. Ask the recipient to pass the pad along in hopes the chain continues while the pad in in decent shape.

Interesting. Of course, it could just be an error on the TA website.

Yes, those of us wishing the family well would like to know the outcome. Additionally, future unfortunate souls in a similar position will likely read this thread. They will really want the conclusion.

Yes, it has been fleetwide for quite a while. Keep your paper or digital set sail pass handy until you get your card, as you can use it instead. On the bright side, the check in process is much faster this way.

I don’t know what choice that should make if he is denied boarding, but thinking it does seem prudent that they think it through ahead of time. I do hope he is allowed to board.

Losing the wallet is a tough break. Perhaps he will be fortunate and will be allowed to board, but the family should probably be prepared for him to be turned away. They need to decide if mom and kids will sail without dad or if the whole family will walk if dad.cannot board. Dad should not check luggage with porters (nor the rest of the family if they will walk, too)

I had not thought about the degree of fare games you describe, though it certainly might have happened. I was only remembering that people would reserve refundable cruises and cancel them if other events/opportunities arose (or if a less expensive cruise popped up). With nonrefundable deposits, people seem much more likely to retain their cruise reservations.

The key date is when final pay is due, not when one pays it. If I elect to pay before the final payment date for my own convenience, I can still qualify for a price drop (same as if I had not yet made final payment). Such a price drop would be refunded to my credit card.